Tales from the Dragon's Nest
by Dr1ft3r0I
Summary: Excerpts from 'Humanity Rising' and 'Phoenix Reborn,' here for your reading pleasure!
1. The Dinner Party

Tales from the Dragon's Nest

[][][]

 **Welcome to Tales from the Dragon's Nest, home to various bits and pieces of story that, for whatever reason, didn't make it into either 'XCOM: Humanity Rising' or 'Humanity Rising: Phoenix Reborn.' Most of these will be little more than snippets that tend to focus on CSM Hopkins and Commander Harrington, plus some other minor characters. So, without any further ado, let's get started!** [][][]

January 20, 2030

77th Human Volunteer Group HQ

Experimental Warfare Wing

Hopkins was reading a report on his terminal when he heard a knock on his door. "Door's open," he called out, not looking away from the screen in front of him. The door slid open, and the guest stepped in.

"Can I speak with you a moment Sergeant Major?"

Hopkins turned his head and saw Tyler standing there, looking unsure of himself for once. "Yes sir, let me just lock down my terminal here real quick," he replied, saving his work before flipping a switch on the side of the terminal monitor. Turning his chair around, Hopkins looked Tyler in the eye. "So, what did you need Commander?"

Tyler gulped as he held out a small envelope. "I would like to invite you to the officer's club tonight for dinner," he said, watching as Hopkins took the envelope and opened it. "I've extended the offer to Doctor Val'leis and others outside the 77th, and I… I wanted to start making amends with you." Hopkins looked up, his eyebrow raised in disbelief.

"And this is different from the other thirty-eight invites to these parties of yours, why?" he asked.

Tyler took a deep breath and let it out heavily. "As much as I don't want to say it… I respect everything you've done for us so far Sergeant Major," he answered. "So far, you've been the one asset I've had that has always gotten results, despite all your griping and discontent for the Administration. I think that the other commanders deserve to know what you've done to help me."

Hopkins' other eyebrow rose to match its twin. "...who the fuck are you, and where's Commander Harrington?"

Tyler's face twisted into one of shock as Hopkins got up from his chair, the older soldier heading to a table, a disassembled… something laying atop it. "Hopkins, what the hell are you doing you asshole?!" Hopkins stopped moving as he smiled mirthfully at Tyler. "Wait… you… did you?" Tyler sputtered as he realized that he had just been had.

"I'll think about it," Hopkins said, setting the envelope aside. "I've got some things that need working on down here, and some reports from Sergeant Ortega and Private Ventura to go over and authorize." Tyler nodded as he began stepping out of Hopkins' other office.

"I see. Well, I leave you to it Command Sergeant," he said as he left. Hopkins watched and waited for Tyler to leave the hallway before turning his terminal back on, the circuit that cut it off from the ship's mainframe still on. Sighing, he turned to look at the screen, the schematics to the micro-elerium core and the barest hints of the composition of the alien alloys ready to be downloaded.

"...eh, bugger it all," the CSM spat out as he resumed typing.

[][][]

Hopkins walked stiffly into the dining room, his gaze flickering over everything of note. Two points of entry, one of which he just went through. Minimal cover, unless the chairs were made of alien alloys or magic duct tape. And besides the kid, _everyone_ was there.

"Command Sergeant Major Hopkins, arriving as invited sir," he stated, stopping a respectful distance away from the table. Besides Tyler, he saw at least two command level Vipers sitting at the table along with Valerie and Hissa, a few other department heads that Hopkins didn't really associate with, and then there were Captains Lawrence and Abrams.

"As you were," Tyler said as he gestured to an empty seat beside Valerie. "Go ahead and sit, the menus will be out shortly." Nodding in reply, Hopkins took the offered seat, allowing Tyler a good look at the recovering soldier. His charcoal grey dress uniform somehow managed to fit over his undersuit, the uniform itself sparsely decorated. In fact, other than his name and rank, the man only had his Wounded in Action medal, combat action badge, and Infantryman badge on it. "So, Sergeant Hopkins, how goes your therapy?"

Hopkins gave a noncommittal shrug as he scanned the assembled department heads and officers. "Docs say I should be clear for active duty in a few days," he answered. "Other than that, I feel fit as a fiddle." Lawrence humphed in disbelief.

"As your Captain, I still have to authorize you for duty, and after your performance in Tokyo-" Lawrence hotly began, only to be cut off by Tyler.

"Captain Lawrence! That is uncalled for, and unnecessary!" he exclaimed sternly, his voice level as he spoke, drawing everyone's attention to the angered human commander. "Command Sergeant Major Hopkins took the initiative to not only secure an avenue of approach for our aircraft to even support us, but he and his men took out the second jammer at Tokyo Tower and stopped an armored column from hitting the Palace's flank! The gear he and his foundry crews have made, _Captain_ , is one of the only reasons we even still _have_ any soldiers left! So please, a little professional courtesy if you can please."

The room was stunned at Tyler's outburst, only to jump as Hopkins let out a heavy sigh. "Ma-Commander," he said, correcting himself when it came to Tyler's rank. "While I do appreciate your defense of my actions, Captain Lawrence does have a valid point. Because of my actions, I deprived the 77th of a critical asset in the AO and medical resources better used on other soldiers. Besides Commander," he added with some degree of cheer, "It wouldn't be the first time my actions have… shall we say, angered some members of this assembly of fine individuals."

Tyler frowned at the fairly subtle jab at his own treatment of the older soldier. "Regardless, we aren't here to point fingers at each other," he said as waiters came out with the menus. "Tonight, we're here to relax, have a good time, and smooth things over with each other." Menus set down, everyone looked down to see what they had available to order. Taking his menu in hand, Hopkins glanced down at it.

Prime rib? Considering where the beef now came from, not a chance.

There was something else with a name that Hopkins couldn't pronounce, so that was definitely off the menu… no pun intended.

Sighing, he set the menu down and beckoned a waiter over. "I'll take the grilled chicken salad with the balsamic vinaigrette, a cherry coke to drink, and the '07 Napa Moscato to finish it off later," he ordered. Tyler and the other Viper looked at him in surprise.

"A Moscato?" I figured you a whiskey person Sergeant Major," Tyler commented.

"Only when things go horribly wrong," Hopkins replied as he folded his hands in front of him, his Viper-friend curling her tail around his right leg. "And in all honesty, I don't usually drink or care for the hard stuff, just doesn't agree with me. That, and the more tasteful years are in the hands of those who make far more than I do." A few of the civilians chuckled at the seemingly innocent joke. Tyler on the other hand groaned internally.

"So, Sergeant Major Hopkins, what made you join the Peacekeeper Corps.?" the Viper asked, leaning in to hear his answer. "I understand why Commander Harrington joined, but you are something of an enigma to us all."

Hopkins took a moment to collect himself as their drinks came out. Taking a sip of the soda, the Command Sergeant Major set the glass down and sighed. "Forgive me, you have me at a disadvantage, miss…?"

"Varasha," the Viper responded, making Valerie's head bow down in respect. "Major Varasha. I command the Legion Guards at the nest next to you." Hopkins nodded in thanks.

"Well then Major, I joined the Peacekeeper Corps. because I got sick and tired of losing people I cared about," Hopkins said candidly. "I survived the Unification War, which by the way was no easy feat, and I survived everything else Command threw our way. And in all that time, I've lost a grand total of three families. Not looking forward to adding more." Hopkins sighed as he looked down deeply into his glass. "But then, I wouldn't expect most of you assembled here to know how that feels."

Tyler groaned as his Viper associate gave him a look. [ **Commander Harrington, is this… normal behavior for your Command Sergeant?** ] she asked in her native tongue. Tyler sighed.

[ **He does take some getting used to,** ] he told her honestly as the table dissolved into separate conversations, Hopkins looking at the two of them with a smirk on his face. [ **Despite his many faults, his heart is in the right place when it comes to the safety and well being of my soldiers.** ]

[ **Commander, words like his are grounds for treason,** ] Varasha said, narrowing her eyes as Hopkins rolled his.

[ **Better honest fool than lying genius,** ] the man commented, taking a sip from his glass.

[ **Thank you Sergeant, that's a good-** ] Varasha paused as she realized how Hopkins had responded to her. [ **You speak Viper?** ] Hopkins gave the Viper officer his best Gendo Ikari impression.

[ **For me to know, you to question,** ] the older soldier replied, grinning as the two officers looked at each other in surprise. "So, Major, how goes the construction next door?" he asked, gently caressing the knuckles of Val's hand. "I know I had Elisif help out as much as possible in getting as much of the outside finished up, but the inside is something that eludes me." Varasha herself looked startled briefly at the question.

"The next is slowly getting finished," she confirmed. "I have tried to make it as quick as possible for the families soon to be living there and for them to ease into living there. Any particular reason you ask, Sergeant Major?" Hopkins shook his head.

"Concerned citizen," he replied. "Besides, I've been helping out in construction your nest, so a few bulkheads still have my name on them." And so the conversation went for the next few minutes as the diners all waited for their food to arrive. And once the food arrived, Tyler stood up.

"Ladies and gentlemen of all species, thank you for coming here tonight!" he announced, drawing approving smiles from the majority. "Now, I know that I'm a little… well, young to be doing this, but I would like to honor several people here tonight that without their efforts, the 77th Human Volunteer Group would not have ever have come this far. First, to Commander Vissta of the Third Viper Core, who while not present, deserves special mention! It was by her endorsement that we were allowed us to rise up above our station, and for whom I hope we've gone above and beyond her expectations!" The crowd all clapped politely as Varasha smiled.

"Second, to our engineering teams, lead by Mr. Cliff Reynolds and Felix Sanchez, for their efforts in making this old ship a home, and for the Vikings, whose fury rains from the sky with the cries of the Valkryies!" The Chief Engineer and Avionics Head both smiled as they had their turn in the spotlight. "To my soldiers, who continue to make me proud! And finally, I would like to mention the guest of honor tonight. From the beginning, I was warned that he was a troublemaker." Tyler paused as he tried to assemble his thoughts as Hopkins' throat suddenly went dry.

"Our first meeting, in retrospect, could have gone much better, but he arrived at a time where I needed all hands on deck just to keep up afloat. And by the Elders, he certainly helped make sure we did, as he helped train his soldiers, repaired this base, and through ways I have yet to fully figure out, get us everything we needed when we needed it. My first engagement with him, I thought him a fairly average soldier. After looking through his AAR of his next engagement, my opinion of him changed.

"To help fill in the gaps of logic here, this soldier has, in almost all cases, been one of the top scorers in our sim-battles, both on field and the command simulator. And while his methods are, and continue to be unorthodox, sometimes to extremes, I do not think that I could ever imagine anyone else capable of getting a mission done with excellence. Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank Command Sergeant Major Hopkins for his service and dedication not just to the Peacekeeper Corps., but to humanity and our soldiers here. His input in furthering our capabilities, and advice on how best to be a human being, may not always be recognized by those who deserve to know, but… after a little over a year serving with him, I can think of no better soldier, or more deserving hero, than he. Sergeant Hopkins, please stand."

Slowly, Hopkins stood up as he looked at Tyler critically. Seeing Tyler give him a gentle nod, the Sergeant picked up his fresh glass of wine and looked at those assembled. "Unlike Commander Harrington, I hate speeches," he said, drawing a chuckle from his human audience. "I am not a hero. I… never have been, I never will be. I don't like being labeled as one. As a Sergeant, it is my responsibility to ensure my men perform their duties admirably. As their Command Sergeant Major, it is my job to make sure that they are trained to protect themselves and come home. It is a duty that I have failed.

"In Tokyo alone, we lost forty-seven young men and women who could have changed the world in so many ways without ever firing a shot in their lives. Another twenty-two will never see combat again. Out of those, eight of them have been medically discharged. Commander Harrington may command them, but in the end, each soldier posted to the HVG is my soldier. A child. A child that I will never see come back home." Valerie reached a hand up to gently squeeze his shoulder, calming the emotional human.

"I mourn for them. My kids and everyone else that's died since those fateful days back in March of 2012. I weep for my training class when I enlisted in the U.S. Army. I wept for those who died in that hellhole that Los Angeles turned into back in '15. I don't sleep at night because of the faces. So, sad to say Commander, I am not a hero." Sighing, Hopkins raised his glass. "To the real heroes, may they rest in peace."

"To absent heroes," Valerie agreed, raising her own glass up as well.

"To absent heroes," the rest intoned, taking a sip of their respective drinks. Hopkins finished his sip and set the glass down.

"I return the floor to Commander Harrington," he said, nodding to the young officer. Surprised, Tyler stood back up as Hopkins took his seat.

"…Sergeant Major, you are better than you think you are," he said after a moment before smiling ruefully. "But, we are here. Tonight. And we remember the people we've lost, and we will continue to fight for them." Tyler continued his speech as Hopkins leaned back, sighing. Valerie took notice of the sound and leaned close to him.

"Gabriel, are you okay?" she asked him in a whisper, the Viper looking at the rest of the table in worry. Her human nodded as he sipped his wine before setting it down.

"Yeah, I'm good," he replied before Lawrence glared at him from his spot at the table.

"Sergeant Major? Is something the matter?" he asked venomously. Valerie and Hopkins looked at the captain as they stood up together.

"Nothing too serious," Hopkins replied with a wave of his hand. "But I'm afraid I've gone and overstayed my welcome. I'm sad to say that some members of present company have soured my mood. I will though be taking my wine. Commander, requesting permission to leave?" Tyler looked at the two sadly before nodding.

"Permission granted Sergeant Major. Enjoy the rest of your night," he responded. Nodding in thanks, Hopkins and Valerie got up and left the dining room, arm in arm.

"…Gabe, I'm sorry you had to leave," Valerie said softly to him as they entered the elevator a couple of minutes later. Hopkins chuckled lightly as he hugged Val.

"I'm not," he told her. "Besides, that just means we can party the right way for a bit."

"Oh?" Val asked teasingly as she leaned into his hug.

Nearly half an hour later, and Hopkins was watching as Val danced her hearts out on the dance floor in the Viper nest's recreational hall, the relaxing bass tones of Kaleida's _Think_ echoing across the room. He himself was tapping along to the beat of the music, and the older human laughingly shook his head as Val gestured for him to come and dance with her. The other Vipers took notice, and soon, the whole hall was urging him to dance with her. Shaking his head in resignation, he went over to her, and their movements were almost the physical definition of fluid cohesion, as they danced in perfect synch; with each gentle bob of her body, a proud arch by him. Each stare, a look into their souls. And when the song closed, the two of them were embraced in the other, moving as one being with the beat.

Hours later, Hopkins lay in his bed with Valerie at his side, her tail coiled possessively around him. It was quiet, and dark in the room, but it wasn't much of a problem now that his eyes were capable of low light vision. Hopkins glanced over at where he had a few photos set up on his dresser. There stood his families, all of them reminders of happier times, and of why he was fighting. There was Training Company G, class of 2012 out of Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Then there was his actual, biological family as they sat together for their last Christmas photo together; the first Phoenix Squad, with Captain Yamada and Lieutenant Dreyfus flanking the squad as Hopkins sat in the front. And then there was the photo of his little girl, smiling and laughing in the photo booth with him.

Looking over, Hopkins smiled fondly at the orange alien sleeping at his side. And so, he closed his eyes, and snuggled closer to her.


	2. The Unexpected Meeting

Tyler sighed as he wandered down the halls to Sergeant Major Hopkins' office. It was relatively late in the day, and it had been two weeks since the attack on Tokyo. Hopkins was still recovering from his near death experiences, and the young blonde wanted to make sure that his senior NCO was holding up just fine. Turning a corner, he had almost reached the door to the older man's office when he saw Private Jaune Ark walk into the office first. Curious, Tyler meandered over to the door and listened in to what the two of them had to say.

"Sergeant Major Hopkins, Private Jaune Ark reporting in as ordered, sir!"

A pause as Hopkins shuffled the paperwork on his desk. "As you were Private. Please, take a seat." Tyler heard Ark take a seat in the slightly rickety old chair in Hopkins' office. "Now, do you know why I've called you into my office?"

"Er, no sir?" Ark replied.

"For one, to personally evaluate how you're doing after that clusterfuck in Tokyo, and two, to discuss the promotion papers I have for you on my desk." Tyler was now deeply engrossed in this. He had hardly ever actually seen, let alone listened to how Hopkins did his job, so this was going to hopefully tell him more about the man under his command.

"Really?" Ark exclaimed enthusiastically. "Umm, so, which do we start with first Sergeant Major?" Hopkins sighed.

"I understand that you lost two of your best friends on the initial approach to the combat zone," Hopkins began, a shuffle of papers the only other sound. "Privates Sun Wukong and Neptune Vasilias, correct?"

Tyler could imagine the normally awkward soldier nodding. "Yes Sergeant Major."

Hopkins set down a pen on his desk. "I won't lie to you. Losing someone you've trained with for that long, to lose a brother in all but blood… you can't describe it. The only reason I know is because I've been where you've been before."

"How?!" Ark snapped, causing Tyler to blink in surprise. "You're the Command Sergeant Major, the fucking pariah of ADVENT! What the hell would you know about losing the people you care about?!"

A thick silence hung over the air as Tyler waited with baited breath for Hopkins' reaction.

"...I will overlook this outburst of yours Private Ark, if only because you are still grieving," Hopkins said with a level tone, but it was laced with something that Tyler knew and used on the CSM all too often himself. "But do not mistake my stoic demeanor for calmness _soldier_. I have bled and killed for my family, and I've lost _four_ of them. Three of them due to combat losses. I survived the L.A. Uprising of 2014 Private, and it takes a special sort of luck to be able to claim that."

Now Tyler was shocked. The L.A. Uprising of 2014 was considered to be one of the last major battles in the Unification War, with an overwhelming ADVENT force smashing the bulk of the remaining United States Armed Forces into battered fragments. Estimates of rebel dead were in the roughly _tens_ of thousands, and that was supposedly on the low side. To hear that Hopkins had not only been there, but had _survived_ , was almost certainly a sign of just how fucking hard to kill the man was.

"I have learned to deal with the losses, body by body. Which leads me to my assessment of you in regards to your actions in Tokyo," Hopkins continued, still using that same level, commanding tone that Tyler himself used at times. "'Subject shows signs of developing acute sociopathic tendencies, with distinctive lack of-'"

"But they killed so many-" Ark began to interrupt before Hopkins cut in.

" **Quiet**."

 _Huh_ , Tyler thought as a shiver went down his spine. _So_ _ **that's**_ _what it feels like to be on the other side of the Voice._ And Hopkins _still_ hadn't raised his voice. "...'distinctive lack of emotional empathy to the situation at hand…' actually, I could go on and on, but regardless, you are not mentally ready, or healed enough, to be placed in a position of command.

"Therefore, I have no choice but to deny the recommendations of Captain Abrams and Sergeant Fall that you be promoted to Corporal."

Tyler could imagine Ark's pained face. "...it's because I'm a failure, isn't it?" he asked softly. Hopkins sighed.

"Jaune, you are not a failure," he said softly. "The fault lies in bad timing, luck, and lack of experience, none of which are under your control. Your family name had nothing to do with this, and frankly, I don't really give a damn. I care that you own up to your mistakes, and _yours alone_. Now, are you leadership material? Yes." A pause as Ark likely looked up at the Command Sergeant Major. "But right now, you aren't ready."

"...Sergeant Major, couldn't Captain Abrams or Commander Harrington override your decision?" Ark asked.

Hopkins gave out a gruff chuckle. "Private, when it comes to what comes across _my_ desk, I **am** God. And what I say in my paperwork goes, much to Commander Harrington's chagrin. Speaking of, I'll be with you in just a minute sir, I need to finish up with Private Ark here." Tyler's jaw dropped as he looked at the mostly closed door. How in the fuck did he know he was there?!

"Now, Private Ark," he added, writing something down on a new sheet of paper, "I am placing you under light duty for twelve weeks. In that period, you will be attending a weekly therapy session with Doctor Rezkalla to help you get started on the healing process. Remember Jaune, I do see a bright future for you. But great things come to us when we are ready for them. Dismissed soldier."

Tyler waited a few seconds as Jaune walked out of the office before stepping into the office himself. "That was different," he commented, looking at the still bald, and older human. Hopkins grunted in indifference.

"Well, you're missing most of my job then, no offense," he responded, sliding his paperwork off to the side. "So, how much trouble am I in this time?"

"Huh?"

Hopkins looked at Tyler with a flat look. "Please, I'm not _that_ old. I know you were outside the door. I could hear you breathing." Ah yes, the augmentations.

"Well, you're not in trouble this time actually," Tyler said as he sat down, eyeing the man's slightly cluttered desk. Hopkins raised his eyebrows in muted surprise at the news, his facial scars stretching only a fraction along his face. "I was wanting to talk to you about the tournament in a few months time, I have some ideas on some new training regimens." Tyler watched as Hopkins stiffened in his own seat. Taking a moment, the CSM picked up his coffee mug and took a long sip of the steaming hot liquid.

"I've looked it over," he said finally, setting his mug down.

"And?" Tyler beckoning for him to continue, curious as to how the old man would respond.

"No."

"...no?" Tyler asked, concern leaking into his voice as he narrowed his gaze at Hopkins. Hopkins nodded as he pulled a stack of papers to him.

"No, I will not sign off on them," he said, clicking a pen before he started reading and writing. "Our surviving troops are already being trained to the brink, and if you keep training them in things they likely will never do, then by the time they are considered 'ready,' they won't have the experience to actually function in any capacity." Tyler crossed his arms as he regarded Hopkins critically.

"Sergeant Hopkins, while I understand your concerns about our troops ability, the fact remains that we won the Battle of Tokyo! The Elders have to be impressed by our actions!"

Hopkins snorted in derision as he put his pen down. "Sir, a near fifty percent combat loss of all our active units is **not** what I would consider impressive," he retorted, looking Tyler in the eye. "Now, here are my points. Aside from members of Bravo Two and Alphas One, Two, and _maybe_ Three, how many of our soldiers have actually had any combat experience prior to Tokyo?" Tyler went silent as Hopkins raised up a finger.

"My second point. In training us to be as multi-use as possible, you have actually reduced our ability to simply have focused units. For example, we have a lack of dedicated grenadiers and marksmen for precision operations. Our medical units on the field were grossly swamped due to the lack of actual experience in actually treating and prioritizing wounded and dead."

"Finally, I have a concern over leadership." Tyler was beginning to grip the edges of Hopkins' chair as the older soldier continued. "I understand your… desire to be in the front of our major engagements. That said, what you did was incredibly stupid and reckless. Abrams and Lawrence have little leadership experience themselves, and Abrams is captain only because of his family name. Lawrence froze up in the middle of the landing into the city, and Abrams did only an adequate job in making sure everyone got into safety."

"Are you suggesting that _you_ would make a better captain than either of them?" Tyler asked, a harsh growl growing in the back of his throat. Hopkins snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Me? Captain? Please, I'm not stupid," he commented, tossing his pen onto his desk. "You won't promote me to captain. Not with the way you see my actions. And most certainly not with what the oh-so infallible Council tells you in my records. A promotion to captain, while certainly beneficial in the short term, would only serve to disassociate myself from the kids under my command. No, I would simply recommend that we hire out a couple of officers until we can be certain that Abrams and Lawrence can handle the responsibility of the job."

"Hopkins, other than Corporal Bailey, what would you know of losing soldiers?" Tyler shot, quickly standing up and over his subordinate. Without missing a beat, Hopkins took the stack of papers he had been working on, turned them around, and slid them over to him. Eyeing the injured soldier, Tyler picked up the first paper and began reading it.

 _77 Human Volunteer Group Headquarters_

 _Kakadu, Australia_

 _Dear Ma'am,_

 _I have been shown in the files of the ADVENT Administration Department of Security a statement that you are the mother of Private Dylan McCormick, who died on the field of battle._

 _I know that nothing I say will ease the pain of your loss, and that there is nothing in my power that can change the impact that Dylan's passing will have on you. But I can only say that Dylan died in service to the protection of his fellow servicemen and the people of Earth._

 _I pray that God may help ease the pain of his passing, and that only the fondest memories of Dylan will illuminate your life, and the pride that he gave his life for the noblest of causes._

 _Yours, and with respect,_

 _Command Sergeant Major G. Hopkins_

 _Mrs. McCormick_

As he read it, Tyler's face grew more confused as he picked up yet another paper, and read much of the same. "Are all of these...?" he asked, looking down at Hopkins as the latter stood up slowly, the artificial muscle bundles of his bodysuit flexing as they restrained his movements.

"Yeah," he responded, plucking the letters out of Tyler's hand before returning them to his desk. "They are. They're not just your soldiers. They were children first." Sighing heavily, Hopkins picked his coffee mug up and looked down into it. "Fuck, out of coffee. Well, I needed a break, my wrist was beginning to cramp up. So, walk and talk sir?" Tyler nodded as the two of them left the office, Hopkins tapping in his access code to lock the room.

"Now, Sergeant Major, I… I can understand where you are coming from in regards to the training," Tyler admitted as they walked through the halls. "But you have to remember, I read about every successful military leader out there, and how they were successful. I know what I'm doing."

Hopkins rolled his eyes as they passed by the entrance to the Bravo Company barracks. "Well, if there is any advice of mine that I hope you take away, please let it be this. Don't be like them. Don't be like Rommel, or Alexander, or the Commander of XCOM. Be like YOU." Tyler looked at him confused. Hopkins smiled wistfully as they approached the door to his quarters. "Look, all those commanders were successes in their times due to the circumstances available to them. Look to them for inspiration, but do not emulate them. You are still young, and capable of learning. Use the time you have to be the commander YOU want to be, not what those guys would like. That make sense?" he asked as he opened his door.

Stepping inside, Tyler looked across the living room and saw that the room was now surprisingly cleaner than it had been the last time he was there. And there, off in his kitchen area, Hopkins was pouring more coffee into his mug, a smile on his face.

"Gabe? What are you doin' back so early?" Tyler turned in place and almost went red in the face as a tired, sleepy, and almost nude Valerie slithered out of Hopkins' bedroom, a loose-fitting shirt the only form of decency the Viper had. She looked across the room, saw her human, saw Tyler, stiffened, and then took note of her state of dress.

"GAAAABE!"

Hopkins flinched at the shout, only to grunt in pain as something popped inside his body. Tyler stood off to the side as the Viper rushed over to him, babbling out an apology a second as she fretted over Hopkins' health. The two of them seemed so… normal in a sense. They worked well together, and the two of them apparently were looking to be quite the couple together too.

"I wasn't interrupting anything, was I?" Tyler asked awkwardly as he started to move back to the door. Hopkins shook his head as his flatmate reset his shoulders.

"Nope, just about to finish here," he replied as he kissed Val with a smile, grabbing his coffee. "Hey Val, remember, XWAR at 1600 for those measurements."

The Viper rolled her eyes. "Whatever love, just don't bring the commander in here like that, please?" Hopkins smiled as he kissed her again before moving to the door.

"Still love ya."

"Stupid human."

"Silly snake," Hopkins shot back with a bewildered Tyler in tow. "Now, I'm sure you have other things to do sir, so I'll escort you back to my office, and from there, well, I guess you'll do whatever it is you do when not harassing the shit out of your poor Command Sergeant Major." For once, Tyler kept his mouth shut.

Now he was needing Hopkins' coffee.

And some bleach for his brain.


	3. The Letter

List of Losses Due to Hopkins:

[ All remaining combat ready members of Bravo-2, plus Privates William Harris and Kyle Fitzgerald

[ Dr. Val'leis

[ Lupa, and two pups

[ All research regarding 'Reflex Armor, Tau Directed Particle Weapons,' and Elerium-115

[ Approx. 25.7 TB of data files, primarily Logistics, Personnel, and Genetic Labs Files

"Glitch… how in the hell did Hopkins get away with _this much data_?" Tyler asked in shock as he read the report in his hands. In his flight out of the 77th, Hopkins had stolen terabytes of unclassified and sensitive data files, including his own post Tokyo medical files. The AI's form flickered uneasily.

" **When you ordered to rescind all security measures for the two hours, I made a mistake in lowering the security measures for all systems,** " he replied. " **He managed to copy almost everything that wasn't classified above SCI. He didn't bother trying to grab your PDA.** "

"But how, I ordered his access codes to halted immediately!"

" **…** **he used a combination of Doctor Val'leis' codes and he somehow managed to use yours. When I asked him, he stated that, and I quote, 'Because the Elder's garbage can isn't the only one I dig through.'"**

"That's… actually clever," Tyler admitted uneasily as he continued to look through the list. "And disgusting." He continued to read down the list until he got to the last item on the list. "GODDAMN IT!" Tyler roared, slamming the pad down as he stormed back to his office in a rage. Hopkins stole one of his drinks, and he expected Tyler to go easy on him?! Fuck that shit, Tyler was going to make sure-

The door to his office opened, and Tyler stopped as he finally noticed something different about his armor. Or rather, what had replaced his armor. It was similar in shape to Hopkins' powered armor system, but somewhat less bulky with the underlying bodysuit. Stepping closer, Tyler inspected it, marveling at the pristine sheen the crimson colored alloy gave off as the lights reflected off of it. Looking at the helmet, a gold tinted reflection of himself stared back at him, the faint image of a note behind the visor.

Tyler carefully removed the helmet and plucked the note out, unfolding it in curiosity.

 _Kid,_

 _By the time you read this, I'm either in custody with the Elders, or I've flown the coop. Either way, you're rid of me for the foreseeable future, but that's not what this letter is for._

 _I know I've been a pain in your ass since day one. You've… never exactly given me much reason before now to trust you, and frankly, after losing four separate families to ADVENT, well, I know I wasn't helping much either. If any of my old friends were still alive, they'd all tell you that I am not exactly the most… welcoming of individuals. It took my friends months to get to know me, and that was before my world went fuck all to the aliens._

 _Before you is a Mk. I Reflex Powered Combat Exosuit System, Modular. Similar to mine, except that the undersuit won't boost your physical capabilities. Armor plating is an alloyed titanium shell layered with minor heat resistant ceramics, Kevlar, my modified ballistic gel, and Boron carbide sheets. The jump jet system uses a pair of micro-elerium cores in each main thruster, with the primary heat exhausts being on the lower outside of the thrusters and on that back of the neck thingie. In the helmet is a virtual disc operating system for combat awareness, data analysis, and target acquisition on a closed system. TACCOM is on its own system not linked with the VDOS._

 _This suit will be my last gift to you, along with some advice. Now, my advice is this, and it starts with a quote from well before you were born. "It is lamentable, that to be a good patriot one must become the enemy of the rest of mankind." Voltaire said that, and he was on the right track. You think I'm a good man… I'm not. At the end of this war, and make no mistake, this_ _is_ _a war, I will rewarded as a traitor deserves. You?_

 _Don't do what I've done kid. Don't compromise who you are to get the job done. I've done it twice now, and I know there's a special place in hell for monsters like me. Just… ._

 _Be safe. Be careful. And good luck Commander._

 _Sergeant G. Monnot_

 _Strike Four_

 _Extraterrestrial Combat Unit Delta_

 _P.S. – Just date her already! Jesus, Val and I have already won at least two betting pools against you and Doctor Hissa, so get on it!_

Tyler was stunned.

And then he yelled to the heavens in a rage.

"HOPKINS!"


End file.
